AP PhotoDetroit Pistons owner Tom Gores (left) and president of basketball operations Joe Dumars already have shown readiness to make deals, with the promise of the No. 9 overall pick in Thursday's NBA Draft looming.

AUBURN HILLS – Detroit Pistons
guard Brandon Knight, only a year removed from his own NBA Draft
experience, will find a similar anticipation level watching his first
draft as a professional player Thursday night.

“I know whatever move we decide
to make, I'm sure we're going to get better as a team,” Knight, the Pistons' first-round choice last year, said.
“I'm excited because I just know, whatever happens, the Pistons are
going to be a better team and in a better position to reach our
goals, as an organization and a unit. So I'm excited.”

That move helped both teams. The
Charlotte Bobcats, who got Gordon, need help everywhere, and are in a
much longer-term rebuilding project than the Pistons.

Thursday, the Pistons hope to be a
little more selfish.

They need a big man to play
alongside Greg Monroe, particularly now that they have freed up
future funds to address his long-term contractual needs after next
year.

They also could use a
sharp-shooting guard now that Gordon is gone.

It certainly is more possible now
than before Tuesday night's trade that the Pistons pull another
draft-day surprise and pick a perimeter player with their No. 9
overall pick, particularly if Syracuse's Dion Waiters were to fall
that far.

That's not projected to happen –
as if projections mean anything once the 7:30 p.m. live selections
begin at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. – and the power forward and center depth of this year's draft
class is something the Pistons are not likely to ignore.

John Henson, the North Carolina
power forward who is valued for his advanced floor game but also
suspect because of his 216-pound frame (he never has weighed more
than 221, he said), is the player most commonly projected to go to
the Pistons with the No. 9 pick, and made it clear that he has a
vision of how it might work out.

“Greg Monroe had a great year
this year,” Henson said. “Greg Monroe kind of took over the
reins as the leader of their team. He's the guy they're kind of
putting in that position to lead them. They're on the brink and
they've got some good young pieces. So if they choose to pick me, I
think I could help them out.

“I think I would play great with
him. He's kind of a back-to-the-basket guy and I think I can kind of
offset that with my athleticism.”

Perry Jones, the Baylor power
forward who has been equally praised for his athleticism and
pilloried for his effort during pre-draft deliberations, has been
steadfast in what he says he can do.

“I believe that I can help turn
a franchise around,” Jones said. “Pretty much whoever picks me
is going to have faith that I can do that. Otherwise, they wouldn't
pick me. I'd be in the second round if they thought I was too
inconsistent.”

The Pistons also have two second-round selections, No. 39 and No. 44 overall.

Teams have five minutes to make their selections in the first round, then just two minutes in the second and final round.

Anthony Davis, the power forward
who led Kentucky to last season's NCAA championship, is the consensus
No. 1 overall pick to the New Orleans Hornets.

Houston already has been active in
the pre-draft trade market and it could have a direct effect on which
big men go in which order. The Rockets already had two first-round
picks, acquired a third on Monday, then dealt the No. 14 pick, plus
center Samuel Dalembert, to Milwaukee for the No. 12 overall pick.

Those deals give the Bucks a
much-needed big man in exchange for dropping just two draft slots.
It also improves Houston's position in what is believed to be an
attempt to create a major trade package for Orlando's Dwight Howard,
or an attempt to make a significant move in draft order.

“There's teams that everyone
knows needs bigs,” said Leonard, the Illinois center. “Milwaukee
just got rid of Andrew Bogut in a trade. Houston needs a big.
Portland needs a big. There's a few other teams in the mix that
definitely need a big. But as far as a certain team goes, I'm not
really focused on that. I'm just trying to be the best player I can
be and get my name called.”